Davis-Townsend “battles” to victory

Thursday

Mar 21, 2013 at 4:00 PM

BY DENEESHA EDWARDSThe Dispatch

DENTON | One point separated the first- and second-place finishers Thursday during the annual Davidson County Schools Elementary Battle of the Books competition, signifying the hard work of students and their love for reading.Davis-Townsend Elementary School came out on top with 93 points to become the 2013 champions at Denton Elementary School. Reeds Elementary School came in second with 92 points while Tyro Elementary School placed third with 85 points.“I’m just very proud of them. They worked hard all year long,” said Davis-Townsend coach and media coordinator Susie Wilcox.Denton Elementary was filled with more than 200 parents, family members and friends in support of the 18 schools participating — Brier Creek, Churchland, Davis-Townsend, Denton, Fair Grove, Friedberg, Friendship, Hasty, Midway, Northwest, Pilot, Reeds, Silver Valley, Southmont, Southwood, Tyro, Wallburg and Welcome.Close to 200 students took part in the festivities that encourage reading by exposing students to quality literature that represents a variety of literary styles and viewpoints. The competition also helps students improve their reading skills, mature in their choices of reading materials and acquire a broader knowledge base while also creating an interest and excitement for reading. Due to the large number of students participating, two matches were held at the same time, one in the auditorium and the other in the gymnasium. Each school competed in eight rounds.“Everybody did a great job,” said Christine Hunt, the system’s director of media services and instructional technology and the moderator. “We’re proud of everybody. Thank you to all of the media coordinators. I’m excited for Davis-Townsend because they’ve never won before. All three of the teams received their highest rank ever. It was excellent.”The students were asked questions about different scenarios from the list of 17 books they had to read. Teams received two points for answering with the correct title and a bonus point if they also gave the name of the author of the book. Teams could only earn two points for answering a question missed by the first team that received it.“I’m excited and very happy,” said fifth-grader Annie Giles.Annie along with fifth-grader Frances Gray Riggs enjoy being on the team because they said it was fun. They both love books. Frances said some of the books on the list were hard while others were easy.“It’s the greatest feeling in the world to know we did our best and we won,” Frances said. Davis-Townsend received a winning plaque. Each student received a certificate for participating.Other students on the winning team were Hylton Baker, Kate Casto and Ava Miller. The assistant coach was Janet Gray.A lot of the team members were fifth-graders. They all had plans to continue participating in the competition at the middle school level.“I just really love to read and compete. It was really fun,” said fifth-grader Sarah McMath.

Deneesha Edwards can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 213, or at deneesha.edwards@the-dispatch.com.